von hope



April 8, 1941- w. VON HOFE 2.237.641

CONTROLLING MEANS FOR ADHESIVE APPLYING APPARATUS Filed June 26, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. GEORGE W vo/v Hons:

A TTO/P/VE Y April 8; 1941. G. w. VON HOFE 2.231641 CONTROLLING MEANSFOR ADHESIVE APPLYING APFARATUS Filed June 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. 650862 14 vo/v flora MWM , i atented Apr. 8, 1941 CONTROLLINGMeans non Annnsrva APPLYING arrana'rns George W. von Hol'e, Boundlflroolr, bi. it." assignor to New Jersey Machine Corporation, Iiohcken,N. .L, a corporation 01! New Jersey Application June 2d, 1944i, SerialNo. ttt/ltll (hi. ti -lit) v Claims.

The invention relates to adhesive applying apparatus and moreparticularly to apparatus ior applying adhesive to labels in labelingmachines and has for its object to provide a novel controlling means forsuch apparatus whereby the application of adhesive to the labels ortheir equivalent is effected in a simple and efficient manner. Theinvention contemplates further the provision of a novel controllingmeans whereby the application of adhesive is controlled independenceupon the presence of a label in correct and predeterminedapplying position on the label carrying means. Other objects will appearfrom the description hereinafter and the i'eatures of novelty will bepointedout in the claims.

in the accompanying drawings which illustrate an example of theinvention without defining its limits, Fig. l is a fragmentaryelevation, partly in section, of a labeling machine with the novelcontrolling means embodied therein; Fig. 2 is a iront elevation of-theadhesive applying apparatus and its novel controlling means; Fig. 3 is adetail view or said controlling means as it ap pears in big. 1, with theparts in different positions, and Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal sectionon an enlarged scale on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

l or purposes of illustration and description and without intent todefine the limits of the invention, the novel controlling means foradhesive. applying apparatus is shown as embodied in a labeling machine01' the type disclosed in tlifiigwltpielbaum Patent No. 1,711,257 ofApril 30,

The type of labeling machine illustrated in the drawings includes atransfer carriage l slidably mounted on guideways H suitably fixed onthe irame of the machine. Asuction head I2 is adjustably supported onthe carriage l0 and is reciprocated thereby between a label pick-upstation at which a supply stack of labels I3 is located in a containerM, and a label applying station at which a support [5 for the article Ato be labeled is mounted in any convenient way. Suitable means isprovided for enabling the suction head it to pick up terminal labels l3from the upper end of the supply stack at the label plclr-up station andfor adjusting said suction head it on the carriage ill at the labelapplying station to apply the carried labels to the articles on thesupport iii. During the travel from the label pick-41p station to thelabel applying staea]. the label It carried by the suction head 12 incorrect applying position at the time, receives hereinbefore.

an application of adhesive from a suitable adhesive applying apparatus.

The latter in the illustrated example, consists of an adhesive applyingroller l't in tangential receiving relation to or contact with anadhesive distributing roller ll which dips into a supply oisuitableadhesive contained in a receptacle It supported in any convenient manneron a bed plate i9 forming part of the frame of the machine;

The distributing roller ii is fixed upon a shaft it which is rotatablymounted in bearing brackets ii projecting upwardly from the bed plateit, while the applying roller it is carried by a shaft ii journalled inbearing blocks ii movably mounted in guideways it provided in levers iiipivoted on the shaft 2H; for the purpose of yieldingly maintaining theroller it in adhesive receiving relation or contact with the roller ll,springs it may be located between the bearing blocks 23 and the endportions oi the levers 2b. The latter are connected by a crossrod 2i andeach has a lug it movable between stop screws it mounted in ears formingin tegral parts of the bearing brackets it.

. The novel controlling means for the adhesive apparatus comprises amain operating rod it having its upper end pivotally connected at 32with the cross-rod ill and provided at its lower 1 end with aforkedmember 32 which slidably straddles a driving or power shaft 33 includedin the labeling machine, said shaft it being actuated in any suitablemanner as shown for instance in the Apfelbaum patent referred to Aroller it is mounted on the forked member 32 in rolling engagement witha sultable cam 35 fixed upon the shaft 33, said cam 35 in cooperationwith the roller 3t controlling the operation of the rod ill in a mannerto adjust the adhesive'applying roller it to and from its operativeposition-in the normal operation of the machine. The operating rod itcarries a collar 36 adjustably lined in place by a set screw 36 and fromwhich a lug 3ft projects into opera-- tive relation with a lockingmember at for the purpose to be more fully set forth hereinafter.Thelocking member St at its free end terminates in a locking nose illarranged to cooperate with said lug ill to lockthe rod 3i and prevent itfrom shifting the adhesive applying roller it to its operative positionif no label has been picked up by the suction head it or a label isincorrectly positioned thereon; the locking member 38 depends from asleeve W of which it preferably forms an integral part, said sleeve Mlbeing rotatably mounted on a pivot pin 4I projecting from a bracket 42secured to and extending down- .wardly from'the bed plate I9. A valvearm 43 preferably also forming an integral part of the sleeve 46extends'therefrom in a substantially horizontal direction and at itsfree end carries a valve 44 preferably mounted on the arm 43 so as to beadjustable relatively thereto. The valve 44 is arranged to control thevacuum opening of a suitably supported valve casing 45 which isconnected preferably by means of a flexible tube 46 with a conventionalsource of suction such as a vacuum pump; in addition the valve casing 46is connected by means of a preferably flexible tube 41 with thepreferably mentioned suction head I2. A spring 48 has its one endsecured to the outer end of the arm 43 and its other end connected witha screwthreaded hook 49 adjustably mounted on the bed plate I9 by meansof a nut 56 and a lock nut The spring 48 acts to normally maintain thevalve 44 in an open position and to return it thereto as will aptpearmore fully from the description hereinaf er.

The novel controlling means further comprises an auxiliary operating rod52 located in spaced parallel relation to the main operating rod 3| withits lower end slidably straddling the shaft 33 and carrying a roller 53;the latter is in rolling engagement with a suitable cam 54 secured uponthe shaft 33 to rotate therewith. At its upper end the auxiliary rod 52carries a bracket 55 in slidable engagement with the main rod 3I forguiding the auxiliary rod 52 in its vertical movements. A spring 56 hasits one end secured at 51 to a collar 58 adjustably fixed upon the mainoperating rod 3| and its other end fastened at 59 to the auxiliaryoperating rod 52; the spring 56 serves to yieldingly maintain therollers 34 and 53 in rolling engagement with the respective earns 35 and54 and to otherwise act on said rods 3| and 52 as will be pointed outmore fully hereinafter. The bracket 55 includes an upright arm 60 fromwhich transverse members 6i and 62 project in horizontal directionsabove and below the valve arm 43 respectively, in spaced relationthereto. The members 6| and 62 carry adjustable projections in the formof screws '63 and 64 respectively located in vertical registry with saidarm 43.

In the operation of the labeling machine referred to herein the carriageIII is reciprocated on the guideways II by suitable mechanism asdisclosed for instance in the Apfelbaum Patent No. 1,711,257 to shiftthe suction head l2 from the label pick-up station to the label applyingstation, and back again. At the label pick-up station provision is made,for instance, by

periodically elevating the stack of labels I3, to

cause the suction head I2 to pick-up successive terminal labels I3 fromsaid stack and to transfer the carried labels to the applying station.During the travel from the pick-up station toward the applying station;the label I3 carried by the suction head I2 passes in tangential contactwith the adhesive applying roller I6 and receives an application ofadhesive therefrom. When the applying station is reached, the carriedlabel I3 is deposited on the article A on the support, for instance bymoving the suction head I2 downwardly on the carriage I0. During theseoperative steps the suction in the suction head I2 is controlled inoperative synchronism therewith to eiiect the desired results. In Fig. 1the carriage I9 is at that stage in the operative cycle at which thelabel I3 carried by the suction head I2 is about to be adhesivelyapplied to the article A on the support I5. In proper timing with thisapplication of the label I3 to the article A the cam 54 inco-operation'with the roller 53 and spring 56 raises the auxiliary rod52 which carries with it the bracket 55 and causes the screw 64 thereofto engage and swing the valve arm 43 in a direction to shift the valve44 away from the valve casing 45 to open the vacuum opening thereof. Thesuction in the suction head I2 is thus relieved to release theparticular label I3 and thereafter the suction head I2 is returned tothe raised position on the carriage III shown in Fig. 1.

The carriage I0 is then shifted to the left on the guideways II toreturn the suction head I2 to the pick-up station ready to remove thenext successive terminal label I3 from the stack thereat. In propersynchronism with this movement of the carriage II] to the left in Fig.1, the cam 35 acting on the roller 34 raises the main operat ing rod 35and thereby rocks the levers 25 on the shaft 20 in a direction to shiftthe adhesive applying roller l6 to an inoperative position below thepath of travel of the active face of the suction head I2; the latteraccordingly does not contact with the roller I6 and therefore is notcovered or soiled with adhesive during this movement. At the same timethe locking member 38 is actuated to swing its locking nose 39 beneaththe lug 31 of the collar 36 fixed upon the main rod 3|. At this stagethe parts of the controlling means are in the positions illustrated inFig. 3 and the main rod 3| is held against downward movement and theadhesive applying roller I6 is temporarily locked in its inoperativeposition.

As the operative cycle proceeds. the auxiliary operating rod 52 is moveddownwardly by the action of the cam 54 on the roller 53 and carries withit the bracket 55 which is slidably shifted in a downward direction onthe main operating rod 3|. The screw 63 movable with the bracket 55 isthereby caused to engage and rock the valve arm 43 and to shift thevalve 44 against the tension of the spring 48 into engagement with thecasing 45 to close the vacuum opening thereof whereby suction is againdeveloped in the suction head I2. The aforesaid movement of the valvearm 43 rocks the sleeve 40 on the pivot pin 4| to concurrently actuatethe locking member 38 in a direction to shift the locking nose 39 to itsinoperative position out of the path of the lug 31 carried by the mainoperating rod 3 I During these operations, the terminal label I3 of thesupply stack and the suction head I2 are brought into surface engagementwith each other. If this surface engagement is such as to correctlyposition said terminal label I3 on the active surface of said suctionhead I2, a vacuum will be developed in the suction line and the valve 44will be held in its closed position by atmospheric pressure, even thoughthe auxiliary rod 52 moves upward to permit said valve 44 normally to beopened by the spring 48.

With the lock ng nose 39 in its operative posit on the cam 35 and roller34 in co-operation with the spring 56, the main operating rod 3| will bepulled downwardly and the levers 25 will be pivotallv actuated to shiftthe adhesive applyin roll I6 to the operative position shown in Fig. 1.In continuing the operative cycle, the carria e I0 moves toward theright in Fig. 1 along the guideways II from the pick-up station to thelabel applying station, the label l3 held in place pick-up station topick-up the next succeeding terminal label ill from the top of thesupply staclr.

If the label it as it is picked up by the suction head it is incorrectlypositioned thereon or no label it is picked up from the supply stack,air will lealr through the uncovered holes in the suction head it andreduce the effect of the" vacuum on the inner face of the valve N andpermit the spring it to open said valve 4E due to the lost motionbetween the arm 03 and the screw til. movement under the influence ofthe cam ti l will next slidaloly move the bracket 5% along the mainrodti in a corresponding upward direction, and at the same time willactuate the arm.

ll and member "it in a manner to shift thenose oi the locking member 33into the path of the lug At this stage the parts of the controllingmeans are in the positions illustrated in Fig. 3 in which the lug 3ioccupies a raised position and the adhesive applying roller 16 isconcurrently in its inoperative position. As the main The auxiliary rod52 in its upward assigtii operating rod 3i starts downwardly in thefurther operation oi? the mechanism, the lug ill will engage the lockingnose 3t and lock the main rod it against further downward movement tothereby prevent theadhesive applying roller it from being shifted to itsoperative position at the label line.

its a result, the suction it with the incorrectly positioned label itthereon or with no label in place on its active surface, will not engagethe adhesive applying roller i6 and consequently will not becontaminated or soiled with adhesive therefrom. As soon as the suctionhead it in the continued operation of the machine thereafter piclrs up alabel it at the label pick-up station in proper position on its activesurface, the controlling means will automatically resume its normaloperation and will continue to so operate until another label it! isimproperly posi tioned on the suction head It or no label is picked upthereby. l u

- During an operative period of the machine, the lug fill inco-operation with the stop screws 23 serves to arrest the rockingmovements of the levers lb and to insure the correct location oi"- theadhesive applying roller IS in its recurrent operative position.

From the aforesaid description it will beclear that the controllingmeans controls the adhesive applying means in a manner to insureapplications oi adhesive only to labels properly positioned on thesuction head, and to definitely prevent the application oi adhesive tothe active lace of the suction head if it has failed, for some reason,to pick up a label at the pick-up station.

The novel controlling means is simple in construction and efficient inoperation and requires no particular supervision at. any time. The saidcontrolling means is capable of being installed in existing labelingmachines without material difficulty.

Various changes in the specific forms shown and described may be madewithin the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

i. In an adhesive applying apparatus including pivotally mounted levers,and an adhesive applying roller rotatably mounted on said levers, thatimprovement which comprises a suction line having a vacuum opening, amain operating rod connected with said'levers, acam-whereby said mainoperating rod is actuated to rock said levers and adjust said adhesiveapplying roller from an inoperative to an operative position and viceversa, a valve for controlling said vacuum opening to render the suctioneffective and nonedective to develop a vacuum in said suction line independence upon the position of said valve, a pivoted valve arm carryingsaid valve, a spring for normally maintaining said valve in its openposition and for returning it thereto, an auxiliary operating rod, a camfor reciprocating said auxiliary rod vertically, projections movablewith saidauxiliary rod and acting on said valve arm to initially closesaid valve and to open the same, said valve being held initsclosed-position independently of said auxiliary rod and its projectionsby atmospheric pressure when a vacuum exists in said suction line, a

locking member movable with said valve arm,

and a locking lug carried by said main operating rod for engagement bysaid locking member when said valve is in its open position to therebylock said main rod against operation and maintain said adhesive applyingroller in its inoperative position. v

2. In an adhesive applying apparatus including. pivotally mountedlevers, and an adhesive applying roller rotatably mounted onsaid levers,that improvement which comprises a suction line having a vacuum opening,a main operatina rod connected with said levers, means whereby said mainoperating rod is actuated to roclr said levers and adjust said adhesiveapplying roller from an inoperative to an operative position and viceversa, a valve for controlling said vacuum opening to render said.suction effective and noneffective to develop a vacuum in said suctionline in dependence upon the position oi said valve, a movable valve armcarrying said valve, a spring for normally maintaining said valve in itsopen position and for rettuning it thereto, auxiliary means co-operatingwith said valve arm for initially closing said valve and for opening thesame,said valve being heldin its closed'positlon independently of saidco-operating means by atmospheric pressure when a vacuum exists in saidsuction line, a locking member movable with said valve arm, and alocking lug carried by said main operating rod for engagement by saidlocking member when said valve is in its open position to thereby loclrsaid main rod against operation and maintain said adhesive applyingroller in its inoperative position.

3. in an adhesive applying apparatus includan operative position andvice versa,a valve for.

controlling said vacuum opening to render the suction eifective and noneffective to develop a vacuum in said suction line in dependence uponthe position of said valve, auxiliary operating means for initiallyclosing said valve and.- for opening the same, said valve being held inits closed position independently of said. auxiliary operating means byatmospheric pressure when a vacuum exists in said suction line, andlocking means controlled by said valve whereby said main operating meansis prevented from adjusting said adhesive applying roller to itsoperative position to thereby maintain said roller in its inoperativeposition.

4. In an adhesive applying apparatus including pivotally mounted levers,and an adhesive applying roller rotatably mounted on said levers, thatimprovement which comprises a suction line having a vacuum opening,operating means for pivotally rocking said leversv to adjust saidadhesive applying roller from an inoperative to an operative positionand vice versa, a valve for controlling said vacuum opening to renderthe suction effective and non-effective to develop a vacuum in saidsuction line in dependence upon the position of said valve, the latterbeing held in its closed position by atmospheric pressure when a vacuumexists in said suction line, a spring for opening said valve when novacuum exists in said suction line, and locking means controlled by saidvalve whereby said operating means is locked against operation tothereby maintain said adhesive applying roller in its inoperativeposition.

5. In an adhesive applying apparatus including an adhesive applyingroller movable from an inoperative to an operative position and viceversa, that improvementwhich comprises a suction line, a valvecontrolling said suction line to render the suction effective andnon-effective to develop a vacuum therein, operating means for shiftingsaid adhesive applying roller to its operative position and to itsinoperative position, and locking means controlled by said valve forlooking said operating means against operation when no vacuum exists insaid suction line to thereby maintain said adhesive applying roller inits inoperative position.

6. In a labeling machine including means for supporting a supply stackof labels, means for supporting articles to be labeled, a suctiontransfer head for removing terminal labels from said stack anddepositing said labels on said articles, and adhesive applying means forapplying adhesive to said labels during transfer from the supply stackto the articles, said adhesive applying means being movable from. aninoperative to an operative position and vice versa, that improvementwhich comprises a suction line connected with the suction head andprovided with I a vacuum opening, the development of a vacuum" in saidsuction line being dependent upon the presence of a label on saidsuction head, operating means for shifting said adhesive applying meansto its operative position, a valve for controlling saidvacuum openingand held in its closed position by atmospheric pressure when a vacuumexists in said suction line, and locking means movable with said valvewhereby said operating means is prevented from'shifting said adhesiveapplying means from its inoperative to its operative position when saidvalve occupies its open position because of the non-existence of avacuum in said suction line due to the absence of a label on saidsuction head.

7. In an adhesive applying apparatus including an adhesive applyingroller movable from an inoperative to an operative position and viceversa, that improvement which comprises a suction line, a valvecontrolling said suction line to render the suction effective andnon-efiective to develop a vacuum therein, operating means for shiftingsaid adhesive applying roller to its operative position and to itsinoperative position, and mechanical locking means controlled by theexistence or non-existence of a vacuum in said suction line and servingto lock said operating means aga nst operation when no vacuum exists inthe suction line to thereby maintain said adhesive applying roller inits inoperative position.

GEORGE W. VON HOFE.

